Earlier this summer I was out shopping for kitchen basics and posted a photo of a shelf piled high with stainless-steel bowls and sheet pans on my Instagram story. The response was astounding: so many people DM’d me asking where I was. I realized not everyone knows the single best place (IMO) to stock up on kitchen basics: a restaurant supply store.
They sound (and look) like industry-only places, but did you know that anyone can shop at a restaurant supply store? While they cater to professionals, most of these places are open to the public—and if you live in a major city, chances are there’s one near you. In New York, they dot Bowery Street in Lower Manhattan (including the one I went to). Inside, you’ll find aisles and aisles of cookware and tools ranging from basic (think sheet pans or tongs) to very specific (like a chocolate curler, a giant commercial-grade immersion blender, or an impossibly tiny miniature stainless-steel pan).
These stores are a great place to pick up a specific piping tip for your niche pastry project, or perhaps a charming “Reserved” sign for your “I watched all five seasons of The Bear” aesthetic, but they’re also one-stop shops for sourcing modestly priced kitchen supplies built to last. Sure, you can buy these things on Amazon, but in my experience, the exact same items are typically cheaper at a restaurant supply store (take this pair of Winco tongs, which ring in at $8.50 on Amazon and were $3.50 at the store I went to). And besides, there’s something nice about shopping for kitchenware in person and having all of your options laid out in front of you for you to see, touch, and evaluate.
Even if you don’t live near a restaurant supply store, you can still get access to everything they have to offer via an online store like Webstaurant Store—but if you have the chance to shop in person, it’s well worth it to get the full kid-in-a-candy-store experience.
You could easily outfit your whole kitchen in one visit (that’s kind of the point!), but these are the six products I buy almost exclusively from these shops.
Stainless-steel mixing bowls
I’ve owned both plastic and glass mixing bowl sets over the years, but after switching to stainless steel, I haven’t looked back. It’s easy to clean, lightweight, and durable—plus it’s cheap enough that you can stock your kitchen with as many sizes as you need without breaking the bank. These are great to buy at a restaurant supply store because you can pick from a wide range of shapes (shallow or deep) and sizes depending on what you’ll actually use instead of opting for a predetermined set. You can also find incredibly large bowls here, which might seem silly for home use but are actually exactly what you need for tossing crowd-size batches of salad or marinating a dinner party’s worth of meat.
Aluminum sheet pans
Uncoated aluminum sheet pans are industry standard (they’re also the best pick for home cooks), and any restaurant supply store will carry them in sizes ranging from baby eighth sheets to jumbo full sheets (which you almost certainly don’t need because they are made to fit in a commercial oven). Chances are you already have a standard half-sheet pan kicking around, but consider this your chance to add a couple extras to your collection, which makes meal prep, holiday baking, and hosting 10 times easier. I’d also recommend picking up a few quarter- and eighth-sheet pans, which are great for organizing mise en place, cooking solo dinners, and doing small prep tasks.
Sizzle platter
Sizzle platters are a restaurant kitchen staple for a reason. Their durable aluminum or cast-iron construction means they’re able to withstand repeated use under high heat, so they’re often used to cook meat or char vegetables under a salamander. At home, I like to keep a stack of them around for tasks like broiling a single fillet of salmon or toasting nuts or using one as a landing pad for any dirty cooking utensils. They also make for surprisingly chic serving platters, if you ask me.
Metal tongs
If you, like me, are on a mission to rid your kitchen of plastic cooking tools, a restaurant supply store is a great place to do so. You can find sturdy metal tongs in various sizes for the price of a drip coffee and finally throw away the half-melted plastic-tipped pair you’ve been using since college.
Squeeze bottles
You don’t need to shell out for [redacted olive oil brand] to achieve the undeniable convenience that a plastic squeeze bottle affords you. Buying your own squeeze bottles means you can buy your favorite oil in bulk and decant it over time—just make sure you’re regularly using up and refilling your bottle, as storing olive oil in plastic long-term can cause it to oxidize and go rancid faster. Squeeze bottles are also helpful for storing and dispensing homemade condiments (think spicy mayo) or syrups for coffee or cocktails.
Bench scraper
Bench scrapers are often thought of as a baker’s tool, and while they are indeed useful for tasks like cutting or shaping dough, they also come in handy for everyday cooking. I use a bench scraper to efficiently scoop up chopped ingredients from my cutting board and to keep my workstation clean as I cook. A well-stocked restaurant supply store should have several options for you to choose from; I look for anything with a heavy-duty steel blade and a wood handle.